“We will apply disproportional force and cause great damage and destruction,” said Eisenkot, head of the Israeli army’s Northern Command.  “From our point of view, they are not civilian villages, but military bases.”

During the 2006 Second Lebanon, the Hizbullah shot a few thousand Katyusha rockets at Israeli towns and cities, killing 43 civilians and causing some 300,000 residents to flee southward.

Often, these rocket attacks were launched near, or even from within, Lebanese villages. In response, the Israel Air Force bombed a number of these staging pads, killing as many as 1,200 civilians.

Eisenkot said that, next time the Hizbullah launches a barrage, the military will be even more brutal, more immediate in its application of firepower against Lebanese population centers.

“What happened in the Dahiya quarter in Beirut in 2006 will happen in every village from which Israel is fired on,” he said, referring to the devastated area that once hosted the headquarters of the Shiite militia.

Interestingly, throughout the whole interview in Yediot Ahronot, Eisenkot does not address what will happen to the hapless Lebanese residents living in Hizbullah-infiltrated villages.

Talk about goof-ups.

AFP reports that four missile nose cones designed to trigger nuclear warheads were somehow mislabeled as helicopter batteries and sent abroad.

Worse, the mistake was only discovered in March 2008.

Needless to say, the People’s Republic of China, which considers Taiwan a break-away province, was not in the least bit amused by the episode.

In deference to the PRC, the US does not officially recognize Taiwanese independence. However, the Asian country is still receives American arms.

This remains a sore spot in Sino-US relations.

A quick look at US-Taiwan arms policy:

• 1979: Taiwan Relations Act allows sale of defensive weapons to Taiwan.
• 1982: In communique with PRC, US promises to slow arms sales to Taiwan.
• 2000: Taiwan Security Enhancement Act increases military cooperation.
• 2008: US admits to holding up $11 billion arms package to Taiwan.

Unlike traditional armor, Trophy defeats an incoming projectile before it hits the vehicle.  The radar-guided system accomplishes this by firing a burst of metal fragments that intercepts high-explosive anti-tank (HEAT) shells, or any other threat, at a distance of 10–30 meters

However, The Jerusalem Post notes that the Israeli system is two years behind schedule and will only be ready by 2010.  Meanwhile, Israel Military Industries (IMI) has been pushing a competing active defense system, called Iron First, which fires mortar-shaped interceptors.

See IMI commercial for Iron Fist:

Both Israeli systems sound cool, but serious questions remain.

Would the infantrymen or civilians near a tank be killed when its active defense system is activated?  Would not multiple systems in an armored convoy lock on to the same incoming rocket? Finally, how effective are these systems against top-attack missiles?

For its part, the US Army has gone with Quick Kill Active Protection System (APS) being developed by Raytheon.  However, Quick Kill (which resembles Iron Fist in concept) is an even less mature technology than Trophy and will only be ready for testing in 2011.

NBC News reports on the Quick Kill vs. Trophy debate:

Now, decades later, the Navy is once again interested in lighter-than-air (LTA) vehicles for surveillance work.  According to Flight International, the service is seeking a remotely piloted airship than can fly up to 20,000 feet in the air and carry a payload of 2,500 lbs.

USS Macon crashed in 1935

In addition, the airship would have a seven-day loitering time, giving it far greater endurance than that of contemporary unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) like the MQ-1 Predator or RQ-4 Global Hawk.  Finally, they are not as vulnerable to ground fire as one would think.

For more information on the renewed enthusiasm for airships, see my article in C4ISR Journal.

Sri Lankan jets bombed a house used by Velupillai Prabhakaran, leader of the separatist Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE).

The air strike on the village-stronghold of Vattakachchi comes as government troops push their way into LTTE territory, at the northern end of the island country.

Formed in 1972 by Prabhakaran, the LTTE is fighting for the independence of Sri Lanka’s Tamil, mostly Hindu minority.

The group has often resorted to terrorism, especially suicide bombings, in order to achieve its political aims. In fact, the Tigers invented the suicide vest.

Among the wounded was Mumtaz Doghmush, leader of the super-radical Army of Islam.

Witnesses say that Hamas cops shot the Doghmush women in the knee caps and drove away with three truckloads of captured weaponry that had been stockpiled by the powerful clan.

In early August, Hamas cracked down on the Fatah-aligned Hilles clan.  Over 180 members of the Hilles fled to Israel to avoid being killed or captured by their Palestinian opponents.

Then, at the behest of Palestinian Authority president Mahmoud Abbas, the Israelis sent 32 of the refugees back to Gaza so Abbas would not to lose a Fatah toehold in the Gaza Strip.

However, the repatriated Palestinians were promptly arrested by Hamas.

Originally from Turkey, the Doghmush are famous for smuggling, arms-dealing and extortion.  Some members of the extended family also belong to the Army of Islam, the outfit inspired by al-Qaeda and responsible for the kidnapping of BBC reporter Alan Johnston, in March 2007.

Hamas supreme in Gaza

The clan held Johnston for nearly four months in a failed gambit to force Hamas to hand over two gunmen who had shot some Doghmushis in December 2006.  However, a month after the kidnapping, Hamas became the dominant power in the Gaza Strip after routing its Fatah rival.

No, you are not schizophrenic.  You are just receiving non-vocal commands from your platoon sergeant, who — like you — is wearing a helmet that translates and broadcasts brain waves.

Sound like something out of Starship Troopers? Think US Army.

In mid-August, the Army Research Office awarded a $4 million grant to a group of university scientists to translate the electroencephalography (EEG) signals emitted by the brain.

The ultimate goal, though, is to create a new form of silent, military communication — in essence, a field radio without a mic or earpiece.

However, it will take decades to develop this telepathic technology.  Because to do so, scientists would have to overcome two major hurdles.

First, they would need to navigate their way through the incredibly complex human brain. Second, they would have to develop a program to decipher EEG signals, which differ from person to person.

Admittedly, the idea of software-powered mental communication seems farfetched, but for a few million dollars, the Army is willing to give it a shot.

[Hat tip: Sam Ser,  http://samser.wordpress.com/]

Two bodyguards and the driver of the vehicle died alongside Wardak.

The attacked occurred just as Wardak left his village of Paghman, 20 kilometers west of Kabul.  He was headed for parliament.

Lowgar Province in Red

Reports cited by AP suggest that two Taliban militants operating from a nearby hilltop had detonated the bomb by command wire.

Afghanistan has 34 provincial governors.  The last one to be assassinated was Hakim Taniwa, governor of Paktia, who killed in September 2006.

In mid-August, Islamic terrorists ambushed a carload of humanitarian aid workers, also in Lowgar province.

Four people, three foreign women and their Afghan driver, died in the attack.

Quick facts about Lowgar:

• It has a population of 292,000
• It is a religiously conservative province
• It used to be a hotbed of al-Qaeda activity
• Due to weather and soil conditions, it sees little poppy cultivation

The Belgian charity Apopo teaches African pouch rats to hunt mines, recently winning a $1,000,000 award from the Skoll Foundation for its humanitarian efforts.

Apopo says that rats make ideal bomb-detectors because they have a good sense of smell; are easy to train, adaptable to nearly any environment, and like repetitive tasks.

And don’t freak, PETA. Rats are too light to detonate a landmine.

Watch the critters go to work in neighboring Mozambique: